Dynamics of Financial Markets: Booms, Busts, and Everything In Between New

This course takes an applied, practical approach to understanding how and why financial markets experience cycles of rapid growth, speculation, and collapse. By examining key episodes such as the Great Depression, the dot-com bubble, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, and the recent rise of meme stocks and cryptocurrencies, students learn to identify recurring patterns and the underlying economic, psychological, and policy forces that shape them. 

Class time is divided between interactive lectures, instructional games, and guided hands-on work. During the course, students gain insights into how markets reflect human behavior, innovation, and risk-taking. Students can expect to learn how to:

• Analyze the causes and consequences of major financial crises across history
• Understand how investor behavior and decision-making contribute to bubbles and crashes
• Assess the impact of government regulation and policy responses on financial stability
• Analyze current market data to evaluate where today’s markets may sit in the boom-and-bust cycle